Media reaction and consumer rights
I appeared across television and radio discussing the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, consumer expectations and refund rights following the failed event. See more of my media appearances and consumer commentary here.
A wonky event – A happening of pure humiliation
Dive into the whimsical of Willy’s Chocolate Experience!, a place where chocolate dreams become reality. Book your adventure now and embark on a journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn!”
That was the promise made by the House of Illuminati on its website Willy’s Chocolate Experience (Now taken down).
However, the reality was very different. Visitors called police to the event, held at a warehouse in Glasgow, because they felt defrauded.
Promises of chocolate turned out to be a small chocolate fountain (they had to rush out to buy a microwave because organisers didn’t know that the fountain didn’t melt the chocolate!) a couple of jelly beans and a drink of lemonade at the end.
The warehouse was mostly empty, with just one bouncy castle, a few plastic props and some backdrops! House of Illuminati marketed the event as an immersive 45 minute/1 hour experience, so customers now sought police help in getting their money back. But of course this was a civil matter and so they could not get involved.
The event was organised by Billy Coull, a curious character who seems to have no previous experience in this sector.
Advertising
If you feel an advert is misleading you can report it to the Advertising Standards Authority. It will investigate the complaint but the most it can do is ban adverts from appearing again in their current form. So, it would not take any further action against Billy Coull, as it is highly unlikely that the advert would ever appear again!
Is Billy Coull a scammer?
At first glance Billy Coull does seem to be a scammer.
However, whilst it seems that it looks like he has knowingly put on an event that was not as promised, it actually promises nothing and doesn’t say what will specifically be there. One could argue that this is quite clever because there wasn’t any breach of consumer law. But the whole thing was written using AI with typos all over the site which have not been corrected and so it is likely that this is because nothing specific was given as a clear “prompt” to the ChatGPT AI system.
Here are some more reasons why this might not be a scam:
- He turned up for the event! Unusual for a scammer to do that! It’s usually take the money and run.
- A scam organiser wouldn’t spend money when they have all the money they are going to get.
- A scammer would make a website look believable. Think of the copycat websites which look identical to the real one.
- A scammer wouldn’t put his/her name to something where there is already suspicion.
- A scammer wouldn’t appear in a programme about him and certainly not unpaid!
- He has “written” books using AI to write the whole thing. Reviews would tell him to stop but he didn’t and he won’t be making any money with them. A scammer wouldn’t continue to do something that didn’t work.
- Billy Coull put up a post on Facebook to say that he was sorry and that everyone would get a refund. Although many people say that they still haven’t had one, a scammer would normally close the Facebook group and run. It appears that Coull has already made some refunds.
What is he then?
In the article TFN lifts the lid on Wonka farce charity chief. Niall Christie details the problems and states:
Questions over financial irregularities relating to the charity follow concerns over Mr Coull’s “fantasist” approach to his role as CEO of Gowanbank, including outlandish claims regarding celebrity support.’
It would appear that Billy Coull “has form” in not having the skills to do the task he tries to accomplish. Whether that makes him a scammer or that he just hasn’t a clue when it comes to any sort of management is still probably open to debate.
James Bores, the founder of Bores.com, believes that Billy Coull is:
Someone who got in way over his head encouraged by the mass hype around AI. He won’t be the last – some are malicious, some aren’t. I can see someone thinking all they need to do is generate the parts with AI and then tell people to sort the rest, without understanding how much effort goes into an event. I suspect that he’s used the AI to generate image, script, and copy, and I can see that he may have fallen for the AI hype rather than being malicious.”
Nicole Louise Geddes, is the founder of event company Manic Stage Productions and is an Entertainment consultant and business mentor PerformerPreneur and says that organizing an event takes all kinds of talents and skill. She laments:
It’s disappointing to see so many people doing it so badly. I think the problem we have is true creatives make it look effortless, leading to everyone thinking they can do it easily. Creating events and especially immersive entertainment is an art, it’s a calling, it comes from the heart and when people are only in it for the money that’s when these things go so wrong.”
She continues:
Effortless events are not effortless at all. The ones that blow you away, tickle all your sense and create lasting memories are meticulously crafted and painstakingly put together. Sleepless nights are had as wild ideas are dreamt up and ways to turn them into reality are mused. Being an event organiser, entertainment producer and a creative in the industry is both exhilarating and exhausting and the difference is those events that knock your socks off are somebody’s heart and soul you see.”
Billy Coull’s response
On the House of Illuminati Facebook page, Billy Coull has posted this statement:
On 13 March 2024 Billy Coull posted a further statement about refunds:
I heard from some of you that there’s confusion and concern about refunds not being received from the Willys Chocolate Experience event. I want to clear the air and honestly say that yes, while some are still waiting, many have indeed received their refunds (please see below) I can’t say sorry enough for the inconvenience this has caused.”
He then put up screenshots of refunds, with personal information redacted.
Social media response
House of Illuminati scam is a Facebook group for discussion of the events and refunds.
The event trended on X (formerly Twitter) as the coverage took to national media and people piled on the comments.
Whilst many memes were funny, there were some vicious comments, including calls for Billy Coull to kill himself. I understand customers’ disappointment and frustration. Many of us suspect that Billy Coull is naïve and just has no understanding of the work involved in managing a company or an event.
Whether accurate or not, it is never appropriate to call on someone to kill themselves.
The legal position and getting your money back
According to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the event should have been as described.
View this post on Instagram
Even with the woolly language, it is clear that the event was poorly organised and disappointing for visitors! The pictures of the event media coverage and indeed the public apology and that all monies would be returned provide evidence should the refund not be forthcoming.
Billy Coull has said that everyone will get a refund but days later some people were saying that they still had not received it. He told customers to contact their bank if they had not received refunds. I think this is Billy not knowing how the system works! When a large organisation says it will refund everyone, we say allow a few days due to the extra workload. He would certainly need to time to return monies to each individual.
So, if you don’t get your refund, you can use this address to email him This link takes you to his email address and not the “info” generic email account which was on his own site.
See How to complain about cancelled events or those which are not as described for more.
The good news
The story captured the nation. It kept media audiences amused and hopefully educates people in what to look for when booking events. It may even teach Billy Coull to better understand his limited capabilities.
The most positive side-effect of this unfortunate story appears to be The Unknown from Willy’s Chocolate Experience to scare children at London Dungeon. Felicia, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, performed at the event as The Unknown, an evil rival chocolate-maker who lived in the walls of the factory. She scared children and has now been offered a job to be paid to do just that.
Props from botched Willy Wonka-inspired event in Glasgow raise £2,000 for Palestinian aid charity “Glasgow record store Monorail Music auctioned the backdrops on eBay after they were passed on by someone who found them in a bin.”
How to protect yourself financially when booking events
The House of Illuminati and Willy’s Chocolate Experience websites have now both been taken down. But you would have seen that both had no pictures of actual events. This is one sign that AI was involved.
Look for typos/spelling mistakes as a sure sign of an unprofessional organisation. These sites were riddled with them.
Check the company’s registration details on Companies House. It is clear that Billy Coull had started these companies in the Autumn 2023. This would indicate very little experience.
Look for details in an “About” (or similar) section which details events that you can check on other websites. See if the people managing the events have experience.
Look out for reviews. Ignore any on the website unless you can track them back to real people who are not associated with the company being reviewed.
Pay by credit card
Use a credit card. If you have a problem with an item you have bought or service you have received you can contact your credit card company. You may want to do this for example when a retailer has gone bust, is refusing to give you a refund or does not respond to communications from you. You have a right to be refunded if you make a claim within 6 years (5 in Scotland) using Section 75A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Purchases bought on debit cards and below £100 are not covered by the Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Chargeback, although not part of any act of law, is a voluntary scheme based on scheme rules set by card issuers such as Mastercard and Visa. Because it isn’t set in law you should use the Consumer Credit Act 1974 where possible, otherwise Chargeback can be applied for similar situations.
See How to claim refunds using credit and debit cards, Consumer Credit Act 1974
Further help when complaining about goods and services
Top 20 Tips for complaining effectively
Complaining about goods and services – all you need to know
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